Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 227: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the funds and grants which are available from her Department or agencies responsible thereto to support initiatives to combat anti-social behaviour; the details of such funding, including the amounts expended in 2004 and the amount available in 2005. [4384/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Education and Science supports a number of programmes aimed at addressing educational disadvantage and which assist in countering anti-social behaviour.

The young peoples facilities and services fund, YPFSF, is a programme that targets those young people most at risk from substance misuse in disadvantaged areas. In developing youth, sport and other recreational facilities, the YPFSF seeks to attract at risk young people away from the potential dangers of substance misuse, into safe, non-threatening and constructive environments. My Department is responsible for funding projects mainstreamed under round one of the YPFSF. An amount of €6.574 million was expended in 2004 on 80 projects in the four VEC areas of city of Dublin, County Dublin, Dún Laoghaire and Cork city. An amount of €6.985 million is available for expenditure on these projects in 2005.

Under the national drugs strategy, my Department and the Department of Health and Children developed guidelines to assist schools in the formulation of a drugs policy and to ensure that all schools had drugs policies in place. The policy is intended to address education concerning alcohol, tobacco and drugs and the procedures for managing incidents relating to these substances. Expenditure in 2004 by the local drugs task forces was €3.092 million. The budget for 2005 is €3.286 million.

The special projects for disadvantaged youth scheme makes grant-in-aid available to organisations and groups for specific projects which seek to address the needs of young people who are disadvantaged due to factors such as youth unemployment, dependence on social welfare or unemployment assistance and social isolation. These projects are administered at local level by the vocational education authorities and national youth organisations such as Foróige and the National Youth Federation. There are currently 167 projects in receipt of funding under this scheme and the 2004 allocation was €13.5 million. Allocations for 2005 have not yet been finalised.

A fund exists for the development of targeted educational responses to certain children at risk. The target group is children from pre-school age to 18 years old, including young people at risk of early school leaving, becoming involved in anti-social behaviour, crime, prostitution and so forth. Some 30 projects were funded in 2004 supporting a range of community based projects for at-risk children. The allocation of €1.27 million is constant.

There are five residential schools for young offenders under the aegis of the Department of Education and Science providing residential care, education and rehabilitation for children generally up to age 16 years referred by the courts. The expenditure on operational costs in 2004 was €28.5 million. The 2005 provision is €34.7 million. Secure care and high support units provide residential care for children who are at risk and in need of care and protection and who require an education service in a secure and therapeutic environment. The Department of Education and Science has responsibility to provide education services for these children. The cost of the teaching provision in 2004 was approximately €1.5 million and is estimated to be €1.6 million in 2005.

There are five youth encounter projects which were established to provide educational facilities for children who had become alienated from the conventional school system, were persistent truants and had become involved in, or were at risk of becoming involved in, minor crime and delinquency. The expenditure costs for 2004 was €2.2 million. The provision for 2005 is €2.4 million.